Food Friday : Easy Pickled Beets

This week’s food post is a demonstration of how to make pickled beets, that are stored in your refrigerator (rather than sealed within sterilized jars). A little recollection … I remember when I first began cooking for myself and wanting to have some steamed beets with my dinner. So I went about peeling the raw beets with a vegetable peeler. Suffice it to say, that I never prepared beets from scratch again because the mess that the peeling caused was something to behold!

Now, having seen what Nick does, I realize the proper and much less messy method is to boil the beets before peeling. Then after allowing the beets to cool slightly (so they may be handled), the peel simply pushes off with a little friction from your fingers and thumbs.

The following are the steps taken to make a large jar of pickled beets, which can be stored in the refrigerator for a pretty long time, as they are immersed in a vinegar solution, which deters spoilage. They are easy to prepare but do take some time, as there are two boiling sessions involved.

We prepared 4 large beets. Wash beets and put them in a large pot of water. Bring this to a boil and cook them for about 45 minutes, until cooked through (Just like you would if you were boiling potatoes). Once they are cooked, turn off the heat and allow them to cool down in the liquid for a couple of hours. Note that you will be retaining 2 cups of the cooking liquid for the brine. If you’re in a hurry you can carefully remove them from the hot liquid with a slotted spoon and cool slightly by running them under cold water, until you can handle them.

Then push the peels off, and slice the beets. Return to the large pot, along with 2 cups of the cooking liquid, plus 2 3/4 cups of pickling vinegar, 3/4 cup of white sugar, the juice of 2 clementines or 1 orange (optional), 1 tbsp salt, 1/8 tspn each of cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring this to a boil and then turn off the heat and let them cool in the liquid.

Once they’ve cooled down, transfer to one large jar, or several small ones, covering the beets with the brine (The beets will float so they won’t technically be covered, so just fill your jar up with liquid, leaving about an inch of space at the top of the jar). Cool completely uncovered, and the seal tightly and store in the refrigerator.

Serving Suggestion: These can be served cold as a little tangy-sweet (but not too sweet) treat on the side of any meal or try them in a Spinach and Beet Salad. (Imagine how pretty this salad would look on your holiday buffet table, or served as a first course at a dinner party!)

Vinaigrette for Baby Spinach and Beet Salad:
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 c red wine vinegar (or less depending on how acidic you like it)
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp Dijon style mustard
1/8 tsp salt (or more depending on taste)
grinding of fresh pepper
A tablespoon or two of sour cream, if you like a creamy dressing.

Whisk everything together a toss desired amount of dressing with the spinach. Top salad with remaining ingredients. Leftover salad dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in airtight container.

Wishing you a happy Friday and hope your up for a great week-end! xo loulou

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Which parts of the pickling recipe can I modify? I’m sure that some of the ingredients are essential for pickling so i don’t want to tamper with them and end up with food poisoning or something…But I love beets, pickled ones especially and would love to give this a try!

Hi Laura. Since we made these we have made another full batch! I guess we love them too! It was funny because in the market when Nick was buying the raw beets, an old European lady approached him and asked him how to prepare them. He was very flattered to be able to share his cooking knowledge with her!

I think you could probably make them by doing the second boiling with just the vinegar and beet water, and omit the sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, but I can’t guarantee they will be as good!

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